Kennedy State Forest - Swedish Loop

As much as I enjoy visiting the county preserves and parks in and around the Syracuse metro area, where I love to hike more is the rugged back country found across this region of the state.  It's in these places where I found real solitude, trekking through deeper wilderness.  About a 40 minute drive south (sort of southwest) of Syracuse lies Kennedy State Forest and all its hills of varying elevation.  The woods here are vast and incredibly beautiful to explore and observe pretty much any time of year; I myself usually make a trip to Kennedy State Forest a few times a year to hike either the Swedish Loop or other loop options intertwining these green valleys and hillsides.  

It turns out this state forest is only one among hundreds owned by the NYS DEC throughout the whole state, many of which also allow hunting during season.  Recently I've been having the itch to come back here and document its beauty and walk the entire 5 miles of what is named the Swedish Loop.  Other trails here have names of different countries, such as Spanish, Lithuanian, and Irish.  I'm not sure whose idea it was to name these trails after foreign places, but I like it.  

Coming from I-81 southbound, I find the best way to get to the trail head is by taking the exit to Rt. 281 south and then driving Rt. 13 south through Cortland.  Turn left onto Webb Rd. just before Elm Tree Golf Course, then right onto W. State Rd., a quick left onto Kohne Rd. and follow this down to Rt. 392.  Cross over 392, taking W. Meeting House Rd. to its terminus at Daisy Hollow Rd.  Make a right onto Daisy Hollow Rd. and drive uphill through some real rural, open territory.  The trail parking will be on the left up a fairly steep dirt road right after you see a Finger Lakes Trail sign on the shoulder.  Be careful when driving up this short dirt road because it's poorly rutted and a smaller car could easily bottom out (as happened to be before!)  Once you park, the fun begins.  And you'll see a sign at the trail head explaining distances to points of interest.  The hike I took had me walking the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) 3.0 miles to the "second junction with Swedish Loop" as noted on the white sign.

 Once I entered the forest on this mild mid-April day, I was immediately greeted with a pleasant woods of mixed hardwoods and Hemlocks.  (This is one segment of the FLT, a long-distance trail that runs nearly 900 miles across New York and reaches into the Catskill Mountains.  I would love to see as much of the FLT I can over time.  I've even read it connects to the Long Path all the way down in southeastern NY State.)  Not far in the trail follows a stream that was running rapid, likely from all the rain we had the previous few days.

 After crossing that said stream, I came across this distinct trail marker which read North Country National Scenic Trail.  Research taught me this trail, which merges with the FLT for a few hundred miles actually (get ready for this) travels from New York all the way to North Dakota!

 I kept following that stream for what seemed like about another half-hour of walking; the trail switching from running along its north side to its south side while the woods become more hemlock-dominant. 

 Now here's the first junction with the blue-blazed Swedish Loop Trail.  This would mark my return loop later, so I wound up continuing along the white-blazed FLT.

 Deeper in, the trees transitioned pretty abruptly to mainly beech and sugar maple.  Beech is identified by its smooth silvery bark which I tried to capture in this photo below.

 By this point in the hike, it was almost noon and the air was warming and I felt myself becoming more peaceful.  This is one of the reasons I hike.  The FLT, for the next mile, went uphill and then downhill though snake-like switchbacks before reaching this open field that looks like it was once farmed.  This field, by the way, is on private property, but it makes for a break in the scenery.

 A peculiar tree formation.

 After stopping to eat some by the field, the trail crosses a narrow creek and then this dirt road.  The FLT continues east, but the blue blazes indicated I should follow the dirt road in a northwesterly direction. 

 Clear evidence of recent logging here:

 Back into the thick shade of hemlocks.  Always appealing to me, especially when the trees are still leafless. 

 I passed a side trail spur marked yellow and named Stockholm Short Cut (the city of Stockholm being in Sweden, of course).  This very short, 0.3 mile path goes to a hill edge by another stream where green patio chairs are placed for sitting. 

 The splendor of the sun and the hemlock evergreen . . .

This entire loop usually takes me just under 3 hours to complete.  It's a superb day outing and I found myself in a great mood after returning to where I started at the Daisy Hollow Rd. trail head.  In my opinion, some of the best hikes are the ones you never get tired of doing.  This is one of them, and if you live anywhere in Central New York, it's not too hard to get to.